Interview: 'The More I Learn About Him, The More Extraordinary I Find Him': Actor Eleanor Worthington-Cox on The Story of Brian Epstein & The Beatles in PLEASE PLEASE ME

Please Please Me, a new play at the Kiln Theatre, opens later this month. The play, which takes its name from the debut studio album of The Beatles, tells the story of Brian Epstein, the band’s manager - “the unsung, gay legend and ‘Fifth Beatle.’”

Recently, we had the chance to speak with Eleanor Worthington-Cox, who plays multiple roles in Please Please Me, including Cynthia Lennon and Cilla Black. We discussed what it is like to be taking on the roles of such historic women, her personal ties to the story and what she hopes audiences take away from the show. 

How did you first get started in the world of theatre?

I'd always loved it! Growing up, I'd done classes at the local village hall, just to curb my energy. And then there were open auditions for Matilda the Musical when it was opening on the West End, and my brother secretly put me up for it without my mum knowing, which is very sweet! He was like fourteen at the time, and he knew that I could do it. He definitely saw something. I think nobody else could, but I'm very glad he did, because I did about eleven auditions, and I got the part! So I opened Matilda when I was a very little girl, but that was quite the baptism of fire.

And what made you want to be a part of Please Please Me?

It's incredibly special to me, because I've only ever been able to do my own accent in one other show in nearly sixteen years now! And I grew up just rinsing the Beatles music every single day. On the way to school, it’d be “All right, can we have this album?” It's just so magical to me as someone from Merseyside who's been obsessed with the Beatles and their story to find out more about the “fifth Beatle,” and be a part of a story that's just not told enough. I feel incredibly proud to be a part of it. But it attracted me massively, because who wouldn't want to tell this story? 

Had you been familiar with Brian Epstein's story?

It was somebody that I was aware of, but there was no way that I was this clued into his story, just how interesting it was, and how deeply complex and tumultuous a life he lived. The more I learn about him, the more extraordinary I find him. It had been a name that had floated around. And obviously, growing up where I grew up, it's what I heard. But it's just fascinating learning more and more about him as we go on.

For those who might be unfamiliar, can you tell us a bit about Please Please Me and the characters that you play?

Absolutely! So the play as a whole is about the life of Brian Epstein, specifically the years in which he made history and took on one of the most successful bands to ever make it. It's essentially about his life managing these people, and not just The Beatles! He also managed Cilla Black, and I get the privilege of playing her, which is genuinely the privilege of a lifetime being the Scouse icon that she is. So the play is about his life and the people that made his life so rich and complex and magical, surrounding him. But it's very much about the fact that he was a gay man as well, living in that period of time in which it was a scary time to be queer. It's massively important to me to tell queer stories, and to be a part of that is incredible. 

So I get to play Cilla Black, and I get to play Cynthia Lennon, John’s first wife. I also get to play John Lennon's Aunt Mimi [Smith]! It's the first time I've ever played older than myself, and I've just gone right to the opposite! Don't do anything by half measures. But it's been the most fun. These are such iconic women in very different ways, so being able to explore that has genuinely been an honour.

What has your preparation process been like to become these characters? 

Well, Cilla Black is the most well-known and well-documented as well! It's been fascinating for me, because you see her right at the beginning of her career, and then just as she's becoming the infamous kind of icon that she was. We really track her progression through that and how Brian essentially made the Cilla we all know. But the preparation for this has been absolutely fascinating. It's a period of history that I'm just obsessed with anyway, and it's so much fun to delve into. I don't think there's anything more brilliant than being able to deep dive and find all these interviews and snippets, finding their voices. I absolutely love the fact that I get to play such different women, and I've never multi-rolled before either - this is absolutely incredible! But it's been fascinating to research. That entire era was just a magical time. Mad, but magic.

What has it been like with your first multi-rolling experience? 

Honestly, I thought it was going to be even more complicated than anything I've ever done before. And because of this cast and creative team, it's become the most fun I have ever had in a rehearsal room. I'm always up for a challenge. I don't like just doing the same thing. I like to make it hard for myself, and always try and do something new and strange and different, so what better than to throw myself into the deep end with three very different women of all ages and temperaments? It's just been so much fun. Honestly, it's just a really giggly, fun experience. And that's all credit to our amazing cast and crew!

How have the rehearsals been going?

Honestly, I have never laughed so much in a rehearsal room. It's just such a warm, beautiful room to be in! Everybody's so respectful of the people that they're playing, and also just so marvellously fun and talented in their own regard, that just being around everyone is really special. We've got some incredible people making up this cast. I just stand there in awe, because they're just all incredible humans and incredible performers, and we've got the most incredible team. It makes such a huge difference! It really makes the storytelling feel that much more important.

How has it been balancing the fact that these are real people versus not being 100% historically accurate?

Tom Wright has made it as accurate as possible. But drama's drama. There's behind-closed-door moments that no one will ever know the answers to, so there is interpretation. And, more than anything, you've got a team full of people who are incredibly respectful and understand that they're taking on really precious iconography. It's especially precious to me because of where I'm from, and because of the fact that I get to represent people that I have grown up idolising. My nan went out with Cynthia Lennon when she was young! She's like, “Oh, yeah, I know Cynthia!” 

So it's really dear to my heart, and it's really special to be able to tell these stories, but everyone's taken that into account. It's not just that it's my neck of the woods. Everyone's gone, “We know that this is incredibly special and important to not just people from Liverpool, but worldwide.” So everybody's been incredibly respectful of the people they're playing. And we've done so much research and met so many people who knew the Beatles, knew Brian, and it's been incredible to watch people take as much responsibility and love and care for these people as I have. It's lovely.

Have you been to the Beatles sites in Liverpool, like the Cavern Club?

I mean, I was literally born and raised in Merseyside, so I was brought up on their music, and it's been such a huge part of my life! When this script arrived, I was like, “Oh, I gotta do it! Please, let me do this.” It's been a massive part of my life, my culture and my upbringing, so this is really special.

Are there any interesting or surprising things you've learned during the rehearsal process for the show? 

I feel like everything I've learned about Brian is such an amazing testament to who he was as a man. I knew a lot about The Beatles, obviously, but he was this hidden, reserved figure - not necessarily always his own choice. He had to be in the background, which is incredibly unfortunate. He should have been right at the front with the boys, and he made so many people into these iconic stars. He himself was an icon, and finding out about what he did, what he championed, what he was as a person, not just who he was as a manager, is absolutely fascinating. So I don't want to give any spoilers, but it is genuinely such a beautiful thing to watch unfold, because you get such a sense of who he was as a person. And Calam [Lynch] plays him so beautifully. It's really magical to watch.

What do you hope audiences take away from Please Please Me?

I think, more than anything, it's a night to be entertained and educated. It's an important piece of British history that we know about, and it's not just him. There are so many queer icons who've been swept under the rug, especially at a point in history where it was dangerous to be openly queer. You'll be expecting giggles, you'll be expecting some clutchy pearls moments, but my God, it's so important that we hear these stories and that we tell them now, because they weren't openly told at the time. So finding out about that now, whether it's a generation that's grown up with that music, or a younger audience, or a queer audience, this play will touch so many different hearts, and that's a really, really special thing. That's just testament to our amazing writer!

Do you have a favourite Beatles song?

It’s like picking your favourite child out of the 200! It absolutely depends on my mood. I have so many special Beatles songs attached to memories from my childhood, and my adulthood as well! I'll go for “Here Comes the Sun,” because it was one I used to beg for every day in the car on the way to school. It always used to cheer me up, because nobody likes going off to school, do they? It's not even my favourite, I don't think, but that's the most sentimental. It's literally impossible! They're just so varied. They can just come out with the most heartbreakingly beautiful love song you've ever heard in your life, and then it's “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” the next minute.

And finally, how would you describe the show in one word?

Magic. I know that's really cringey, but it is! To find out about this man and everything that he did, and his work ethic and his drive, it's magic.